Trion-Induced Distinct Transient Behavior and Stokes Shift in WS2 Monolayers.

Understanding the excitonic behavior in two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides (2D TMDs) is of both fundamental interest and critical importance for optoelectronic applications. Here, we investigate the transient excitonic behavior and Stokes shift in WS2 monolayers on both sapphire and glass substrates. Trion formation was confirmed as the origin of the distinct photoluminescence (PL) emission and Stokes shift in WS2 monolayers. Moreover, the transient studies demonstrate faster recombination of both the exciton and the short-lived trion on the glass substrate as compared to that on the sapphire substrate, owing to the heavier n-doping and greater number of defects introduced by the glass substrate. In addition, a long-lived trion species attributed to the intervalley triplet trion was observed on the glass substrate, with a lifetime on the nanosecond time scale. These findings offer a comprehensive understanding of the excitonic behavior and Stokes shift in WS2 monolayers and will lay the foundation for further fundamental investigations in the field.